Episode 390

Sometimes when I saw an old tree, I felt that it was more like a rock than a plant. That was my first impression of this man. It felt as though a tree that once spread fresh green leaves had withered and hardened to the point where it was difficult to distinguish from stone. Traces of vegetation could be seen in the remnants of youth left on his face, but the years had layered wrinkles on top of it. That caused his features to grow rigid, almost petrified.

It wasn't like me to use such a twisted metaphor, but Obi's appearance was that impressive. Besides that, there was something strange about him.

I knew that I would be suspicious if I stayed silent for a long time, so I deliberately thought deeply. I wondered what the intention behind his question was. Maybe it was because he was too suspicious in every way, but that actually made the possibility that he was a church member or the Dark Pope even smaller. However, I didn't know if he could be trusted. Also, it was strange that he was similar to Lotus from Block 106.

I said nothing for a long time.

Then Obi said, "You ask this question to the prisoners of the punishment building. There is always a reason for doing something. Everyone detained here is a heinous criminal. It means they shouldn't be provoked unnecessarily."

Now was the time to respond with something, so I spoke. "What if it wasn't provocation but interrogation?"

"Interrogation?"

"There are church members in the labor camp right now."

Vice Principal Obi's gaze became strange. He was an assistant correctional officer, so he had to have a fairly high rank in this labor camp. Perhaps the only person who could be called his superior was the general manager who oversaw the labor camp.

So, depending on whether I could trust this man or not, my course of action in the punishment building would completely change in the future. That was why I was making a somewhat irrational move now.

Obi replied, "There are church members in the labor camp? You are saying something obvious. At the Rahild Labor Camp, prisoners from all over the continent are detained. Do you really think there could be no church members among them?"

"Is that how you are taking my words?"

"You really are insane. Indeed. Coming to work on your day off is already not normal, but still." Obi tilted his head and continued, "In any case, I am here today to give you a warning. Don't waste your time and focus on the correction. You don't want to go back to the daily activities, do you? Life here is quite comfortable."

Then he left without hesitation as if he had really come to say that. I glanced at the back of his head with a bit of annoyance, but Obi never returned.

Thus, the first meeting with Vice Principal Obi ended in futility.

***

That same evening, the second meeting took place.

Feeding the prisoners was the last task of the day, and I was spoon-feeding an old dwarf prisoner. I was hand-feeding him, but it wasn't out of kindness or because he was a heinous criminal whose entire body was bound. It was just that this dwarf had lost both eyes.

"Feed me quickly, you bastard. Don't make this old man lose my patience."

"You have to chew it properly since it is good for your health and your stomach. That is especially the case since you are old."

"Heh, what's the point of worrying about my stomach when I don't have long left to live? I only have fifty years of life left. It is like a candle in the wind."

"Fifty years is the lifespan of a lizardman."

Just as we were having a casual conversation, the door opened and a somewhat stiff face appeared. For a moment I wondered who it was, but it turned out to be the pot-bellied guard, Jisal.

He called out, "Hey, you. Come out for a moment."

I replied, "I'm not done serving the food yet."

"Forget it and come out quickly!"

"I'll give him everything. Please wait a moment."

"You are really a bastard. Hah." Jisal seemed about to say something else, but eventually sighed with frustration and looked back. "Hey, Larsen. You should give the rest."

Larsen replied from outside, "Huh? Me?"

"This bastard is becoming more insolent every day. Then should I be the one to feed the prisoner?"

"No." Larsen sighed and winked at me. I was forced to get up from my seat.

The dwarf seemed to become senile again and shouted, "Oh, the assassin has finally come to kill me! Did you think I wouldn't know?"

He made a scene, but was quickly subdued.

I followed Jisal out of the cell, asking, "What happened?"

"Didn't I tell you before? Don't mess around and behave."

"Hm?"

"The vice principal called you." Jisal's expression was sullen as he continued, "He told you to come to the supply room right now."

"The supply room?"

"It is on the first floor. The second room from the end of the corridor on the right."

"Mm."

"Hey, lizardman. I am warning you. Don't talk nonsense to the vice principal. You are the one who wanted to come in and work on your day off. I didn't make you."

From the way he spoke, it seemed Jisal thought the vice principal was angry due to me working overtime, like one of the cases where a superior unfairly made his subordinates work even on weekends.

I didn't think that was the case, though. I had only met him once, but I had the impression that Vice Principal Obi wasn't that upright. He was the type who wouldn't care about any unfairness as long as the work in the punishment building was going smoothly.

I gave a small nod and headed to the supply room.

***

"I heard you called me," I said when I arrived.

It was a room filled with unused supplies and gave off the typical feeling of a storage room. The only thing that made it different from an ordinary warehouse was that there was a desk and chair in one corner. On the desk, there was a lamp and various scattered documents.

Vice Principal Obi was reading one of the documents. Despite my arrival, he didn't even look up.He just said, "Name, Luzard. Race, lizardman. Thirteen years old, presumed to be an exiled lizardman. The reason for exile from the clan is unknown. So Bastard's guildmaster recommended for you to enter the labor camp? It is an unexpected person."

Obi flipped through the documents and narrowed his eyes. "The charge is insubordination and the target was the Iron-Blooded Lord? It is a miracle that your life was spared."

It seemed he was reading my personal information. Most of it had been provided by me before entering the labor camp, so it wasn't particularly surprising. However, I didn't remember ever revealing that I'd protested against the Iron-Blooded Lord. In other words, this man had his own source of information.

Obi said, "The other day, the Iron-Blooded Lord visited the labor camp and interviewed a number of prisoners. You were on that list. Can I ask what kind of conversation you had at that time?"

I replied, "We didn't talk much. He just asked if there was anything wrong with the daily activities, and about the status of the lesser races recently."

It was an answer I had thought of in case I was suspected someday, so I was able to express it without any hesitation. At the same time, I was curious about one thing. I wondered if Obi knew about the Golden Lord's plan to kill all the lesser races and defile the ritual of the church.

Considering this man's position, there would be nothing strange about him knowing it. He was the second-in-command of the camp... No, it wasn't to that extent. His position was most likely in the top five.

However, if the Golden Lord had a thorough personality, then she could have hidden everything, even from her subordinates.

As I was thinking about various things, Obi nodded and said, "Is that so? Then let's leave it at that."

I was confused by his statement.

He remarked, "By the way, your crime is relatively light."

I replied, "Wasn't I insubordinate to the Iron-Blooded Lord?"

"If it had been severe insubordination, you would've been executed. The fact that you are alive is proof that your crime was relatively light. Setting aside your methods, your current status is that of a model prisoner. If I add some support, you might be released on parole before the end of this month."

I blinked at the words that came from out of the blue. I asked, "What does that mean?"

"You are doing a pretty good job in the punishment building. You have taken over the duties of the lazy guards, waking up earlier than anyone else and falling asleep later than anyone else. It means that I like your exemplary behavior. You can think of it as a show of my good intentions."

I was flustered for a moment. I'd never thought Obi would come forth with this.

Vice Principal Obi looked at me with eyes that were still unclear, remarking, "What should I do? Do you want parole like this?"

Obi was even leaving the choice up to me. However, no matter what I chose, it felt like I would inevitably be cornered.

Still, letting myself be thrown out of the punishment building and the labor camp would be the worst move. Due to that, I was forced to make a somewhat unreasonable remark. "I don't want that."

The thought of a prisoner refusing parole was nearly unthinkable. It meant I was undoubtedly suspicious, making the situation awkward.

However, Obi seemed convinced, simply saying, "I see."

This reaction was also unexpected. It was normal to express doubts based on the flow of the conversation. If so, I was ready to respond as Luzard: Since I had already been sentenced, my stubbornness meant I wouldn't leave under any circumstances until I served my full term.

What is this guy up to? What exactly is his goal? I wondered. My frustration was slowly turning into irritation. I had a bad temper, so I felt the urge to hit him until I found out. Maybe that would even be better than leaving such an uncertain risk factor alone.

At that moment, Obi covered up the document he was reading and looked at me. I finally felt like a conversation partner. Or perhaps it was more like I had been promoted to an opponent who met a certain standard.

He said, "Then let's discuss the truth now. Who are you?"

The flow of the conversation suddenly progressed in a more unexpected direction. I was inwardly a bit surprised, but I didn't show it. A lizardman's stiff muscles were a great help in this situation.

I wondered, "What do you mean by that?"

"Let me tell you one thing in advance. If you don't reveal your hidden identity, I will unconditionally release you on parole. I will get you out of here by any means necessary. It doesn't matter if you are really a lizardman or whatever. If that is truly who you are, it doesn't matter anyway."

It was only then that I detected anxiety and desperation in the man's voice. Apart from that impression, my sense of absurdity grew. So it wasn't that I had acted suspiciously or made some mistake that revealed my identity. The man was simply being stubborn, just like he said a moment ago.

I weighed the scales in my mind for a moment, wondering what the reason for this could be.

No matter how bad leaving the labor camp would be, it still couldn't compare to the risk of exposing my identity. In fact, I had learned about the internal structure of the labor camp and roughly what was going on here. It meant that even if I left the labor camp without revealing who I was, the means to stop the demon king's descent wouldn't be completely cut off. I could join the Iron-Blooded Lord on the outside, cooperate with Seren, or use other means.

Still, this gave me a sense of frustration. I somehow had the feeling that if I chose that path, I would never learn this man's true identity or the big secret of this labor camp. My current situation was like that of a caveman wandering alone in a cave with no light. Stepping forward into the darkness was reckless, but I would only end up starving to death if I kept crouching there forever.

Sometimes, you had to step out no matter what was in the darkness. I thought about it and immediately took off the Linchal mask. It was the first time I had revealed my identity to someone who didn't already know it.

A lot of emotions flashed through Obi's eyes when he saw me. He blinked a few times before saying, "...You are young."

I replied, "I am in the middle of growing up."

"Besides that, you aren't the Iron-Blooded Lord."

As expected, Obi didn't know my identity.

I asked in a puzzled manner, "Did you think I was the Iron-Blooded Lord?"

"I was looking forward to that the most. The presence of that man would be a great help in the current situation. Let me ask first, though. What is your identity?"

It wasn't surprising that he didn't know me. This was the remote southern region of the empire, and it was a closed-off place like the labor camp, at that.

I replied, "I am Luan Badniker."

"Luan? Moreover, a Badniker... The youngest child of the Iron-Blooded Lord? Ah, the Golden Fairy of the Hero Society?"

"That is what they call me. So who are you?"

"Mm." Obi closed his eyes for a moment before finally answering, "Obi, the vice principal of the punishment building. In addition, someone who knows that there are church members in this labor camp. This is all you need to know for now. The other identities won't help us in any way."

"Do you think that makes sense? I took considerable risk to reveal my identity," I said with narrowed eyes.

However, Obi seemed to have no intention of changing his mind. He said, "I understand your doubts. However, trust me. I am your ally."

"If you want me to think of you as an ally, tell me more—"

"The Dark Pope is in the punishment building."

My sentence was cut off. This man knew a fact that even Leone hadn't known, and only the Iron-Blooded Lord knew.

"I want to kill the Dark Pope. Even if I have to risk everything," Obi said as he stared at me with bloodshot eyes. "Isn't that enough?"